Colorectal cancer (CRC) at an advanced stage of cancer has a lower 5-year survival rate. Research on the molecular biological mechanisms of CRC is helpful for disease prevention and treatment. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were shown to be suitable as therapeutic targets for CRC. Previously, our research team found that LINC01123 promoted proliferation and metastasis in CRC by regulating miR-625-5p and the LIM and SH3 protein 1 (LASP1). Therefore, this study speculated that the molecular sponge effect of LINC01123 on miR-625-5p affected the process of CRC via regulating LASP1. The LINC01123-silenced CRC cell models (using the LOVO and SW480 cells) and xenograft tumor models were established to verify the above conjecture. As a result, it was found that silencing LINC01123 inhibited viability, proliferation, metastasis, and invasion but promoted apoptosis in LOVO and SW480 cells. Additionally, the knockdown of LINC01123 inhibited the LASP1, N-cadherin, PCNA, and Bcl-2 protein levels and raised the E-cadherin, Bax, and Caspase-3 protein levels in vitro. Furthermore, it showed that LINC01123, as a molecular sponge, targeted the miR-625-5p/LASP1 axis. The results of the xenograft tumor assay further verified the above effects of LINCO1123-silenced on tumor growth in vivo. And the miR-625-5p mimics treatment promoted the aforementioned effects of silencing LINC01123 on CRC cells while overexpressing LASP1 has an antagonistic effect to silencing LINC01123. In conclusion, this study suggests that silencing LINC01123 inhibits the process of CRC via sponging to the miR-625-5p/LASP1 axis. This finding hopes to provide research fundamentals on the biological mechanism study of CRC.

晚期结直肠癌 (CRC) 的 5 年生存率较低。研究CRC的分子生物学机制有助于疾病的预防和治疗。长非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 被证明适合作为 CRC 的治疗靶点。此前，我们的研究团队发现LINC01123通过调节miR-625-5p以及LIM和SH3蛋白1（LASP1）促进CRC的增殖和转移。因此，本研究推测LINC01123对miR-625-5p的分子海绵效应是通过调节LASP1影响CRC的进程。建立LINC01123沉默的CRC细胞模型（使用LOVO和SW480细胞）和异种移植肿瘤模型来验证上述猜想。结果发现，沉默LINC01123可抑制LOVO和SW480细胞的活力、增殖、转移和侵袭，但促进细胞凋亡。此外，在体外，LINC01123 的敲低可抑制 LASP1、N-钙粘蛋白、PCNA 和 Bcl-2 蛋白水平，并提高 E-钙粘蛋白、Bax 和 Caspase-3 蛋白水平。此外，它表明 LINC01123 作为分子海绵，靶向 miR-625-5p/LASP1 轴。异种移植肿瘤实验的结果进一步验证了LINCO1123沉默对体内肿瘤生长的上述影响。miR-625-5p模拟处理促进了上述沉默LINC01123对CRC细胞的作用，而过表达LASP1对沉默LINC01123有拮抗作用。总之，本研究表明沉默 LINC01123 通过海绵作用于 miR-625-5p/LASP1 轴来抑制 CRC 的过程。这一发现希望为结直肠癌的生物学机制研究提供研究基础。